Grief: A Slow Motion Nightmare

Friends, the below is an excerpt from my soon to be released book, When Scars Become Stories: A Journey of Healing, Restoration, and Faith. I wanted to give you a sneak peek of what is to come. This particular chapter is taken from “Entering the Waters of Grief.” I would love to hear your thoughts.

Grief can feel like waking up inside a nightmare that doesn’t end when the sun rises. It’s as if time itself slows down, trapping you in moments that others move past easily. What was once ordinary – making coffee, driving to work, laughing with a friend, now feels foreign, heavy, and drenched in a sorrow you can’t escape.

When you’re caught in grief, life can seem blurred, as though you’re moving through a fog that no one else can see. The world around you keeps spinning, but your inner world has been fractured. People continue their routines – talking about errands, planning vacations, celebrating milestones – while you struggle to simply breathe. The nightmare is not only in the loss itself, but in the ache of trying to exist in a world that feels both familiar and unrecognizable.

Nightmares often bring disorientation: you run, but your legs won’t move; you cry out, but no sound comes. Grief mirrors that paralysis. You may want desperately to move forward, to find comfort, to reclaim a sense of normalcy, yet you feel stuck – trapped between longing for what was and facing the painful reality of what is.

The slow-motion nature of grief is especially cruel. Days feel endless, but nights bring little rest. Memories replay like haunting dreams you cannot turn off, reminding you of all that has been lost. A song, a scent, or a photograph can send you spiraling, pulling you back into moments of sorrow when you least expect it.

And yet, even in this nightmare, threads of hope can slowly emerge. Just as light sometimes filters into the darkest dreams, so too can glimpses of grace and comfort break through. A kind word, a gentle hug, or a verse of Scripture can whisper to your weary heart that you are not alone. Though grief may feel like a nightmare you cannot wake from, God’s presence can become the anchor that steadies you in the storm.

One day, the nightmare will not feel quite as sharp. The pain may never fully vanish, but it will soften. The nightmare will begin to loosen its grip, and you will learn, moment by moment, how to carry both your sorrow and your love into a future that still holds meaning.